Intracellular electric fields produced by dielectric barrier discharge treatment of skin

Abstract

The application of atmospheric pressure plasmas to human tissue has been shown to have therapeutic effects for wound healing and in treatment of skin diseases. These effects are attributed to both production of beneficial radicals which intersect with biological reaction chains and to the surface and intracellular generation of electric fields. In this paper, we report on computational studies of the intersection of plasma streamers in atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) sustained in air with human skin tissue, with emphasis on the intracellular generation of electric fields. Intracellular structures and their electrical properties were incorporated into the computational mesh in order to self-consistently couple gas phase plasma transport with the charging of the surface of the skin and the intracellular production of electrical currents. The short duration of a single plasma filament in DBDs and its intersection with skin enables the intracellular penetration of electric fields. The magnitude of these electric fields can reach 100 kV cm−1 which may exceed the threshold for electroporation.